Twins starter José Berríos departed Saturday’s game against the Royals with a blister on his right ring finger, per reports. It’s not yet clear whether the issue will prevent him from taking the mound for his next scheduled start, but it’s a troubling development nonetheless.
Berríos pitched through seven scoreless innings before the injury became apparent. In the top of the eighth inning, he allowed a 1-0 single to Humberto Arteaga, then fired a wild pitch to advance Arteaga to second base and walked Cam Gallagher on five pitches. Following a mound visit, he was replaced by Taylor Rogers, who permitted another two hits and three runs before the end of the inning.
Following his outing, Berríos holds an 8-3 record in 16 starts with a 2.84 ERA, 1.7 BB/9, and 8.3 SO/9 across 104 2/3 inning this season. This is the first injury that figures to affect his playing time since he suffered a minor bout of shoulder soreness in 2017.
Despite Rogers’ meltdown in the eighth, the Twins held on for the win with C.J. Cron’s go-ahead single and Eddie Rosario’s double in the top of the 10th. They improved to 50-26, becoming the first American League team to reach 50 wins in 2019 and the second to do so in the league (behind the 52-25 Dodgers).